The Blessing of St Mary’s Well, Llanrhos

On a dry, sunny Saturday afternoon in August, several members of the Deganwy History Group (DHG) met with local dignitaries to celebrate the awarding of the Green Flag Award to the small garden at St Mary’s Well, Llanrhos. The event was held on 15^th August 2026 which is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Catholic day of celebration.

Kevin Slattery, chairman of the DHG welcomed everyone and began by explaining the reason for this event and talked about some notable people who have supported the work over the years. Many of these were present today, but sadly some are no longer with us. St Mary’s well was probably the main source for water in the local area up until 1908 when piped water was introduced.

The main reason for the event was to celebrate receiving the Green Flag Community Award for this garden and to remind people of the importance of one of our natural resources which has become more relevant in the recent dry weather (Summer 2026). Volunteers from the Deganwy History Group have steadily maintained the garden around the well after its rediscovery and repair by Ken Davies and Bryn Thomas in 1994. The story of how the well was rediscovered and repaired can be read by an article written by Ken Davies following this link.

https://www.deganwyhistory.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ffynnon-Santes-Fair.pdf

Kevin then walked down the steps to the well and drew a glass of water to show everyone how clear it was even after the recent long dry spell.

We were very fortunate to have the support of Reverend Sarah Hildreth-Osborn of St Hilary and St Mary church, Llanrhos who had created an order of service for us to follow during the blessing ceremony. A short prayer was said reminding us of the importance of clean water in our lives and how all life needs access to water now and in the future. This was followed by two short readings from the Bible with passages relevant to water.

Rev Sarah then, to the amusement of everyone, took some water from the well and blessed the volunteers who had helped maintain the well by sprinkling water over them, thanking them for their hard work and dedication. It was a warm day and the water soon evaporated from our clothing. The blessing ended with the reading of the Lord’s Prayer.

A wreath was then laid down at the well made up of traditional white and blue Marian flowers including white lilies, roses, chrysanthemums, carnations, daisies and blue asters, dyed Blue chrysanthemums and also grasses that had been picked locally in Rowen. The combination looked really beautiful as you can see in the photo below.

After the service everyone retired to the Castle View for refreshments of tea, coffee, cake, or water of course.

Many thanks to Vicky from the Deganwy History Group for organising today’s event and liaising with all attendees and the Castle View. Thanks also to the Mayor of Llandudno Mandy Hawkins, the Mayor of Conwy Sian Grady and to Rev Sarah Hildreth-Osborn for their support today. It really made for a memorable day to reflect on one of our often forgotten natural resources.